The building has been dedicated and named after the country’s second Ombudsman Isaac Qoloni of Choiseul province who had served the country with vigor, particularly, by raising awareness among people about corrupt practices within the forestry sector until his death in 1997.
Key speakers at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Fred Fono and RAMSI Special Coordinator Graeme Wilson both paid tribute to Mr Qoloni for his vision and fine example in making sure the integrity of the public service was upheld.
“The naming of this building after Isaac Qoloni is deliberate. Mr Qoloni was a hero. In his own time, he was an unsung hero... that is - no one sung his praises, not even himself,” Mr Fono said.
“But all in authority at the time knew of him because he stood up for what was right, what was good, what was sensible and what was just.
“And the people he served at the time remember him. Definitely those who worked with him do remember him for his courage and fortitude in very difficult and even dangerous times,” Mr Fono said.
Mr Qoloni was Solomon Islands fourth Ombudsman. He was born at Nabusasa village in south Choiseul in 1942 and he died in 1997.
After schooling in New Zealand, he began his career as a teacher and rose rapidly in the ranks of the public service.
Prior to becoming Ombudsman, he had already been a District Officer and District Commissioner in the colonial administration and Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary before, during and after Independence.
He became Ombudsman in July 1986 just as the government began to relax much of the controls over the extraction of virgin forests; decisions that ushered in a period of false prosperity that gave rise to many of the country’s social, political and economic problems.
He was Ombudsman until 1991 and during his time, he worked valiantly to awaken people to the need to protect their resources and to help people understand the law, the processes and what they were letting themselves in for.
In 2000, the Pacific historian, Dr. Judith Bennett of Otago University in New Zealand, published a book called Pacific Forest – A History of Resource Control and Contest in Solomon Islands, from about 1800 – 1997.
This traced the beginning of logging and the maneuverings in the mid 1980s that led to the rampant extraction of logs throughout the country which gave rise to much of our problems since about 1990.
It tells the definitive history of logging in the country.
“Today, we dedicate this fine building to his memory and to what he stood for. And we task the Leadership Code Commission and the Ombudsman to pursue their responsibilities with the same vigor and rigor that Isaac Qoloni applied,” Mr Fono told officers of the two integrity institutions.
“You are not just working for government, you are working for the people of Solomon Islands, and they deserve the best service possible,” he added.
The revitalisation of Solomon Islands’ accountability and integrity institutions was identified early in the SIG-RAMSI partnership as a key priority.
The Government believed that better resourced and supported integrity institutions, such as the Ombudsman’s Office and the Leadership Code Commission, will be better able to fulfill their roles of fostering and promoting ethical leadership and effective administration that is capable of delivering appropriate services to the people of Solomon Islands through a more efficient and responsive system of government.
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